Caster



July 3 1, 1923. 1,463,266

CCCC ER vwentoz the pintle is removably inserted within a Patented July 3l, 1923.

' iJNiTl-:o ys'iMs PATENT? 'fos-Fica? j.

WALTERE, I TEROLD, or NEWARK, NEW` JEasEY, AssIGNoR Tov THE BAssIcKfcoMl PANY, or BETnGEPoRn, CONNECTICUT,

n vCORPORATION or CONNECTICUT.

` Application ined september 21, i922. serial No.'5s9,5o2.

To all whom t mayY concern:`

Be it' known that I, WALTER F; HEROIYID',

acitizen vof the United Statesmand resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of VN ew Jersey, have invented 'cert-ain new and vuseful ImprovementsV in Casters, of'

which the following lis a specication.

- The invention relates to improvements in casters, and particularly to casters of theV type known as gripneck casters, in which socket having an inwardly extending spring portionthrough which a head or'enlarge- Y nient of the pintle iskforced when the pintle is mounted vin position, the spring coacting with lthe pintle enlargement or head to preventfthe caster fromfalling' out o-f place when in use: In such casters the'socket, ex-v cept for its sprin portion, commonly fits closely within a vertical opening in a wooden f furniture leg or the like.

vIn the'usual prior constructions of this type the pintleis of uniform diameter, less than the inside diameter of the socket, throughout its length, or throughout the intermediate portion of its length, within the socket, up to the enlarged upper end or head, below which the spring portion `of the socket engages. Such pintles are commonly formed by `upsetting a length ofsolid part ofthesocket, immediately below wireV rod to form a head on` one end and by adaptedV to be securedc'to the top of the` caster horn. -The head ofthe pintle must be adapted-to pass through the solid portion of the ,socket when the caster is to be withdrawn, and the body of the pintle below the socket.

headis, of course, of` an even smaller ldiaineter, so that it will lit quite'loosely :in the 'With such an arrangement'lateral lpressure exerted on the caster wheel orbearingl memberY tendsto cause a tilting of theV pintle of the spring portion of the socket against the upper portion of the pintle. *In the use of the caster the spring portion of the socket is thus, repeatedly bent laterally, whereby its spring action is weakened, and in many cases the spring is permanently distorted, so that it occur, to anymarked extent.

willnot prevent the headof thepintle'.- from droppingS therethrough fwhenjr V thev furniture is lifted. f

.An Object of the present intention is io provide aconstr'uction 1n which such,defec-' tive operation is prevented.V I n .my im-v proved caster the lower portion ofthe pintle is: adapted toi'it slidably withinthe solid portion of the socket,with a bearing imme-k diately below the socket'spring portion.I The'pintle is given a reducedj diameterV (and is preferably tapered)V from apoint adja.-V i

cent to the lower endof the'springportion E of the `socket to thel lower; side ofthe pintley head, whichV latter is adapted, to slide through `the solid portion of the-socket'when the pintle is inserted in position.` .The pintle and the bottom of the socket are .preferably 2.

formed to provide a thrust and journal bearing at this point, by. givingthepintle a. sufficiently lsteep outward' taper or curve adjacent its' lower end, sorthat sidewise 'move-V, ment ofthe bottom ofthe vpintle will be si,

- With such a construction,-lateral pressure exerted on the caster wheelgtends to tilt lthe pintle,.} but such action Vis resisted bythe lateral pressurefof the pintle against -the the spring portion of the socket, and lateral K pintle against the :spring portion ofthe socket in .-sucha case cannot the distortion of the spring portion ofthe socket, referred to above, 1s prevented.,v They arrangement described also perinitsfthe ,use of pintles of lthicker stock, vadaptedj-for heavier duty, than is possible hereinafter and particularly pointed outin the accompanying claims.'

y for use with;v Vsockets of the same size, whenrthe pintle is Y of` uniform ldiameter'for its length .below The invention comprises various ar#` rangements, combinations and details 'of'construction, all as will be more fully described 100 lln order that the invention may be more fully understood, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, mentorA the improved construction.

ln the drawings Fig'. l is a side elevation of. the prefer-red form ol same hasA beeny secured to the caster horn,

and

Fig. 2 l

the completed caster mounted in upper end? of.'v taperedfportion 3, and a` peripheral shoulder 5 at'the lower: body portioni2. i

Thepintle maybe secured tothe top cross portion L8-'ot the casterL horniin usual aslion, asby inserting portion through an Opening in member setting the lower form' aihead or shoulder i9 thereon, helow portioni 18 ofi' the horn.

lower end of 18 y and' up- In thepintle a iilletor taperedsuriacel 20.-

is-preferably formed in any suitable manner at lthe-junction of 'portion 2 of the pintle with". shoulder 5, this i forming-atleastapart ofthe upper surtace of the-shoulder, as is indicated particularly ini Fig. 1'.

The complete'pintl`e, secured tothe caster horn, islshown mounted. in posit-ion inY Fig.

The socket 21is secured. to the supporting diso` 22 inusual manner, the socket then beingforced intozposition in the openingQB of vthe-wooden'furniture leg 24,- disc 22 being shownl asprovided with a. Vserrated edge 25 which islior-ced intothelowered'ge of the w-'Ood The upper, part or' the socket is shownascut" longitudinally to form spring' ng'ers,

v26,` arranged to exertvw pressure Ainwardly,rin well-known .'manner..

The solidporti'on of the socket,below the spring fingers-26, fitsclosely within opening 23". Vthen the pintle is'pushedv into position,

i' headeswillmove throughfthezsoclret, pushing spring lingers 2G aside,and will take the position shownin Fig. 2, above the spring 'ngers. krlhe spring Vlingers preferably will be out of contaetwithf the` surface oi` the tapered'. portion 3 lofthe pintle', so as not tointerferewith the rotation oit the pintle aboutl its axis, in use. The uppery ends of the spring fingers, however, are helow the 'head"4,and the pintlev may only bc wit diiawnby pulling on-'the same with enough force tordraw head e through springl iingers 26. f l w v The portion 2 of the pintle will have a illustrating" one embodi-I -aintle v before the is a view partly in side elevationA 17 or" the pintle;

end of the portion 17 to fillet or tapered surfacel sliding lit in the solid portion of the socket, portion V2 extending upwardly to approximately the base ot the spring portion 26 oi the socket, Collar or shoulder` 5r oit-.the pintle will bearagainst the turned under lower end portion 27 of the socket. Fillet 20 on thepintle will fit snuglyagainst the curved vinner surface of end portion-27 oiij the socket, and will-form with` it combined thrust and j ournal bearing.

Vihen caster wheel 28 encounters resistance, in moving' the urniture over an uneven su'rliace, for example, the tilting eHect produced on the pintlewill cause lateral pressure ofi' the upper part orV portion 2l of the pintle against thervsolid wall ot the socket, which is backed by the solid wood or' the ,furniture leg, 24, below the; spring` portionrof the'socket. Portion 3 of the pintle beingf o'hreduccd: diameter relative to portion 2, such tilting' effect cannot cause lateral pressure of the pintle against the spring 26, toV any perceptible extent. The provision of fillet 2O on the pintle, seating against the correspondingly curved surface at the bottom oi"- the socket, also. tends to insure lackv of looseness' of iit of the lower portion of Lthe pintle Vin the socket.

ln manufacturing practice, itisfimpossible to manutacturethe pintles and sockets in quantity exactly to size, a tolerance or variation ot soine thousandths of an inch, ksay ten thousandths of ,an inch for the pintle and Valso for the socket, having necessarily to bey allowed igor. Therefore, it is not possible to have the upper journal bearing ofthe pintle, immediately below the socket spring, tit with absolute snugness in allA cases, although what is'commonly termed a sliding litY is obtained. At the lower end of the pintle, however, no2- lateral movement of theqpintle inthe socket will be permitted, ince the curved or tapered surface at the upper side orf shoulder 5 will engage at allV tiines,in the service oi* the caster, with the curved. lower edge of the socket, which will effect atleast a line contact all the way around the periphery oit the pintle. Accordingly any tilting effect on the pintler may' cause a very slight rocking' o they pintle about the bearing of filet 2Ol andthe lower end of the socket as a pivot, such rocking being limited by the iirin engagementncit the upper part oi" Yportion 2 oli thepin'tle with the wall of the Irulltiplied"to,4` fonexample, vthree i times that-'of thelower end, or of the upper end, of

' top and bottomof. portion 2 and a length'of portion 2, assuming equal clearance at the portion Qabout equalto that of tapered portion w'of the pintle. In this case the strainfon the springmight well be severe.

The provision ofthe tapered or curved surface 2O on lthe pintle also aids in aligning or'keeping the pintle coaxial with the socket and the opening in the leg at all times, and makes the caster swivel more easily, because of the fact that swiveling requires more force with a tilted pintle than with a properly aligned-one. The construction also reduces the bending stresses on the pintle, as these are also increased when the pintle is tilted over atan angle.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction which have been particu- -larly pointed out. The scope ofthe invention Vwill be indicated by the accompanying claims. f What I claim'is: g l. In a gripneck caster, the combination of a socket having a spring top portion and a leg supporting plate at Lthe bottom, and a pintle having a cylindrical portion adapted to slida-bly fit in said socket up to fthe base of the spring portion thereof with a clearance held within narrow limits, the'l pintle Vhaving an enlargement `below said Y the base of the spring socket the upper surfaceof which tapersupwardly and inwardly toconnect with the cylindrical surface, to form a thrust and journal bearing for the bottom end of said socket, arranged to engage the socket in its periphery regardless of slight variations in l the clearance of said cylindrical pintle portion, said pintle having aportio-n of reduced diameter above said cylindrical portion and a head at the top of said reduced portion,

above the upper end of the socket spring` pintle is mounted in posi-V portion when ,the tion. Y

2. In a-caster, thecombination of a cylinf drical socket having an inwardly extending spring portion forming its upper end, and a pintle having a cylinc rical portion of uniform diameter adapted to slidablyl fit in said socket fromv vthe lower end of the same to and having a portion of reduced diameter extending from said first portion to a point above the upper end of said socket spring portion, and having a head above the upper end of said spring portion, when the V'pintle is mounted in position, said pintle having a peripheral shoulder at its lower end and said socket having a leg supporting plate secured to the lower end thereof, the lower end of the socket bearing upon said shoulder, andthe pintle, at the junction of said cylindrical having an inwardly just below the base portion of the same,

portion and shoulder', havinga snug rotative', u j

t inthe socket'.

i 3. In a caster, the combination ofasocket havngan inwardly extending springlpo-r; tion at its upper `end and an outwardly and downwardlyrcurved edge at its lower end,

and a pintle having a shoulder adjacentlits said llet adapted to slidably fit in said socket up tothe base of the spring portion of' the same, with a bearing surface engagingV -1 the socket wall immediately below the base of the spring portion, and having a portion4 of `reduced diameter Vextending from said first portion to a point above the upper end of said socketspring head above the upper tion, when the pintle lil. In afcaster, the

end vof 'said spring poris mounted j inHposltion.

tion forming its lupper end," and 'an outwardly and downwardly curved edge at its lower end, and a portion, and having a Y combination of a 'socket i l extending spring por-1 j 9o` pintle having a shoulder` i Y adjacent its lower end,r'portions slidably'.'

fitting and `formingV socket adjacent the lower end thereof .and of said spring portion, respectively, a portion of reduced diameter extending upwardly from Vsaid last namedY apoint-above the upper end .of

portion to said spring portion,

when the pintle is mounted in position,

the pintle having an inclined peripheral surface atthe junction of said first named bearingportion and shoulder, adapted-to form a bearing for the curved socket. 'c

5. A. caster pintle having a peripheral shoulder'adjacent its lower end, a cylindrical portion of uniform diameter extending upwardly from tial part of the the other end,

lower edge of said length of the pintle towards and a downwardly inclined bearings within said l' thrust and journall f said shoulder for av substan-g A.

fillet connecting said shoulder and portion of uniform4 diameter and." constituting part of the upper surface of said shoulder, fillet being adapted to bear against'a curved seat at the lower end of a socket and said portion of uniform diameter being adapted to slidably fit in sucha socket, said pintle having a portion of' reduced diameter of substantial length, following said f first named portion, anda head, ofdia'meter no greater thanthat ofsaid first tion, immediately reduced diameter.

6. Inga gripneck caster, the combination of said i named por-1; I' beyond said portionvof` Y a cylindrical socket adaptedto be driven i.

into an opening in an article to be supported,

havingan inwardly extending springpor-V tion, and a supporting plate at the bottom, and` a pintle having a pair of portions adapted to sldablyftrn: sad'soeket amdv form Y journal bearings at seperated;pontsftheren at, which thel soeketfrwall isz backed. solidly by the rrmteralofA the artble supported', thev f upper'of said portions ttng in said Socket;

With a: olea-rance held. Within Aclose limits,l

andthe lower. of sadportons being ormed tog. effectY With the lower end 0I" said: socket pntle also having;A anenlargement. a

apted lu to pass through said; socket. spring; Relation',

and retain they 111 testimony Whereofl havefsgned' myname to this speocatou,

Jersey, on this at Newark, New 6thy dayloff Sept;I 1922.l WALTER FHER0LD1 

